Indian & South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art

The Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Department offers works by leading modern artists and cutting-edge contemporary artists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as by diaspora artists from this region. Sotheby’s established this market, hosting the first-ever international auction in this category -- the seminal single-owner sale of the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection in New York in 1995. The resounding success of this inaugural venture set the stage for two further auctions of works from the Herwitz Collection -- in 1997 and 2000 -- and with the illustrious sale of works from the collection of Amrita Jhaveri’s Amaya Collection, in March 2013.

The department has offered property from eminent private and diplomatic collections sourced from India, Europe and the Americas. Notable amongst these are the Stevie and Steve Wilberding Collection, the Dartington Hall Trust and the Collection of Abe and Jan Weisblat. The rapid expansion and growth of this market has been demonstrated by the tremendous success of artists such as Maqbool Fida Husain, Francis Newton Souza, Syed Haider Raza, Tyeb Mehta, V. S. Gaitonde and Akbar Padamsee, all of whose works have realised exceptional prices of over $1 million in Sotheby’s auctions over the past decade.

Our international team comprises highly specialised experts and senior representatives strategically positioned in key collecting centres including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris who work in collaboration with team members in Monaco, Geneva, Brussels, Luxembourg, Cologne, Vienna and throughout the Middle East and India. The department offers premier auctions for the category in New York and London, as well as selling exhibitions and private sales of fine paintings, drawings, photographs and installations.